I love fudge, I do. The only trouble with it is that most fudge is so sweet I usually feel sick to my stomach after eating it. Needless to say, it’s been years, maybe even decades, since I’ve had fudge.

However, when I stumbled across this recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge by Laura Dolson, I knew I could have my fudge and eat it too! Her recipe uses peanut butter (instead of the usual butter), and alternative sweeteners, rather than sugar. I changed her recipe a bit, she had close to 2 cups of sugar alternatives, and in my version I have used a mere 2 tablespoons of xylitol, though I think this recipe could work also with agave, honey or any other number of sweeteners, if you are willing to take the time and risk of experimenting.

I am contributing this recipe to Kelly’sSpunky Holiday post, where she is doing a round up of her friends and readers favorite Easter recipes.

I used to make fudge every Thanksgiving and Christmas, back when I was in grade school. During the holidays, I would pack it up in cute little boxes, tie them with ribbons and give them out to all of our family friends. I loved experimenting with different types of fudge. What all is in your favorite fudge recipe? Leave a comment and let us know.

Almond butter came to mind when I read your recipe because the type of peanut butter I use isn’t usually smooth. I like the combination of almonds and fudge anyway. I also like pieces of walnut in my fudge, so I’ll add some of those.
Thanks for the recipe!

Thanks for contributing to my holiday round-up Elana! These look awesome! I used to love rocky road fudge with marshmallows, back in the day when I ate fudge myself. There was a place in downtown Annapolis, where we lived, that made it. It was on Main Street I think, and it had this huge storefront window, where you could see them making it as you walked by.

Just don’t forget that xylitol is deadly to dogs. Their body thinks that it is being overdosed on sugar and so puts out a burst of insulin. Their blood sugars can get dangerously low and it is an emergancy if your dogs eats any xylitol. I used to use xylitol toothpaste until my puppy got a hold of the cap and had to spend several hours in the ER.

Over the holidays I was on a fudge kick and made a batch with rich dark chocolate, a bit of coconut milk, some agave syrup, a bit of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne. My husband was so in love with the stuff and told me that it was a perfect accompaniment to a cup of steaming coffee. Yours looks lovely Elana.

I love fudge, and I absolutely love peanut butter. I try not to eat it often, but when I do –look out! I will definitely have to make this for the spring holidays so I can divide it out amongst my family members and friends.

Recently I’ve used almond butter in place of the peanut butter, and used cocoa powder combined with coconut oil, using a stevia and xylitol sweetener mix. Very good!

I love PB and chocolate! I did look at the original recipe out of curiosity (I wondered why would it need 2 cups more sweetener) and did notice that it uses unsweetened chocolate, vs the cane sugar likely lurking in the chocolate chips.

No favorite recipe for the reasons you’ve cited. I would LOVE a good peanut butter fudge…I’ll take my chocolate on top instead of mixed in. Any chance of a recipe for that coming up. Something peanutty but not so sweet it makes my teeth hurt? Please?

One of my all-time favorite fudges is very similar to this one, with cashew (or macadamia) butter in place of the PB and agave nectar as the sweetener (I’ve never used xylitol). I made two versions–one with ginger, and one with orange zest and both were phenomenal. At the time, I was using chocolate chips (with barley malt), but I’ve since made it again with unsweetened chocolate and it’s equally good (now that my own taste buds are used to less sweetness as well). :)

I remember a delectable Rockyroad Fudge that we got one Christmas. My brother and I only got one piece each and my dad ate the rest. I will have to experiment with this recipe and see if Stevia will work as a sub.

One of my grandmother’s was known for her fudge. She used the Nestle recipe. After she passed, I made it again and again as comfort food. Now that I’ve stayed away from sugar, and have adopted agave, I’m more sensitive to sweets. Even Nutella is too sweet for me. It tastes more like frosting. However, I wonder if it would be just right in this recipe instead of peanut butter and xylitol? Hmmm…. curiosity is building.

We’re on the same wavelength, Elana. I just made peanut butter fudge this week, but a simple version that I just leave in the bowl and eat with a spoon! Great when it’s only me eating it :) I just blend peanut butter with some water and palm sugar, then blend in 3 T Penzy’s gourmet cocoa powder. If too runny I heat it a little and it thickens. YUM!

I want to try yours so I can cut it into blocks and share it. Or maybe not…

Thanks for this recipe, Elana. I love the fact that it’s healthy and not too sweet. Thanks everyone else for their comments; they give us unlimited options, i.e. using almond butter, etc. I bought a couple of jars of almond butter at different times, by mistake (forgot I had one jar already), so this is a good way to use it up.

These sound great! Way simpler than my recipe which contains cream and butter. I love the fact that there is so little sweetener, traditional fudge is way too sweet. Do you use natural peanut butter? I LOVE your site!

I got this recipe in your email and it looked so easy that I tried it right away. I changed the recipe a bit based on what I had on hand. I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet double chocolate chips and since the chips and the peanut butter are sweetened a little, I only used 1 Tbsp Xylitol. The fudge came out perfectly. I’ve never made fudge before and now that I have this awesome recipe, I’m sure I’ll be making it for many parties in the future. Thanks Elana!

I love the Nestle chocolate chip marshmallow fudge. It’s easy, and my grandmother used to make it, I think those are the reasons it’s my favorite. I’d love to try this recipe, though–thank you for adapting it! Lisa

I didn’t read through all the comments here but just read that some xylitol (generally the less expensive options) is made from corn, some GMO corn as well. Apparently, the other option is a brand made from birch tree bark.
I thought I’d post this in the event others are not able to eat corn based products.

p.s.
I’m making the fudge now but skipped the xylitol and went straight for my raw honey. I’m sure it’s going to be yummy!

Yummy and easy! I used semi-sweet chips, skipped on the xylitol, added walnuts, and used almond butter instead of peanut.

I’ve always had the same problem with most fudge being too sweet, even as a kid I would dislike my moms fudge (the ton of sugar, marshmallow cream, sweetened condensed milk, etc. kind), cause it made me nauseous. But this is perfect!

This is fabulous, Elana, thank you! I used dark almond butter and 85% chocolate, plus a xylitol (from Germany) that claims to contain 0 calories – the brands I buy in the UK have 240 cal/100 grams. Does anyone have an explanation for this? The almond butter worked very well, and the mix firmed up in the fridge very quickly.

Elana – I made this almost immediately after you posted it. We loved it! I used brown sugar instead of xylitol (due to the cost), but my husband and I could still tell the difference between the brown sugar and white/refined or powdered sugar. That and the dark chocolate really make a difference in how light and tasty this fudge is. It’s super simple and perfect for any occasion – a planned party or oops-guests-are-coming-and-I-need-something-to-serve-them. Thanks for posting/creating!!

my name is skylar and i’m an 11 year old girl. i have this obsession with cooking that came out of nowhere about two months ago. the only problem was that everything at the grocery store had gluten. my dad found this website and showed it to me, and now i cook things from here about 2-3 times a week. i enjoy it, and although what i cook is not always so good, i enjoy the process of making it. i made the fundge squares 4 days ago, and i loved them–being the humongous peanut butter fan i am. i am doing a math project involving fractions, so now i am cooking these for my whole class. thank you Elana for your wonderful recipies!!!!

I substituted raw almond butter for the peanut butter, and unsweetened Callebaut chocolate for the chocolate chips, plus I used only stevia for the sweetener, and the fudge turned out really well for sugar-free. It yields a rich chocolatey flavor with a nice mild almond complement. Since the nut flavor isn’t as prominent, I think it will also serve as a good base for experimenting with additional flavors :-)

Great sounding recipe!
I will make it substituting sugar-free chocolate chips (from nutsonline.com), and add a bit of coconut oil and a touch of coconut flour just for the health benefits. I eat low-carb and am finding lots of great ideas here. Thank you! :)

I just made this fudge. I haven’t had any yet but the melted “goo” tasted great. It’s in the fridge chilling now…HURRY UP!

Anyway, just wanted to say that I made this with regular Chipits dark chocolate chips and natural PB..but I ran out of natural smooth PB at around the 1/2 cup mark so I subbed in the other 1/2 cup with natural crunchy PB. Because the chips are already so sweet I did not add any sweetener whatsoever. The sea salt I ground in I left slightly course so that you get that new “in style” flavour of sweet/salty just a tad.

That being said – I came up with the nutrition info for this fudge as I have made it.
Per Piece (if you cut it into 28)
67 calories, 5g fat, 5g carbs (1g Fibre, 4g sugar), 2g protein.

I am so excited that you are starting to try xylitol in your recipes, Elana! My sisters and I have been experimenting with xylitol in your recipes, including chocolate chip cookies and pancakes for several months now. Right now when we replace agave in a recipe with xylitol, we are using an equal amount of xylitol. To replace the lost moisture (xylitol is totally dry, like sugar), we also add one egg to the recipe. We really like the way xylitol cooks, tastes like sugar, and has a low glycemic index.

I just made this recipe today. After it chilled for the specified time, I tasted it. It has a slight crunch to it. I’m guessing it’s from the Xylitol. It never seemed to melt properly while stirring it in. Is this the desired outcome? Help!

Heavenly! Used agave instead of xylitol. My husband and I have 5 daughters 21, 19, 14, 10 and 7. We were all glad that the oldest wasn’t visiting that night. We cut the fudge into 12 pieces and well… We were pleased to each have 2.:)

My 14 y/o GF/CF daughter was in the mood for chocolate PB fudge. She said, “Mom, you just don’t understand how much I need some right now.” :) So I did a google search and it came up with your recipe as an option. I told her, “Elana is one of my favorites. Her recipes rock. Try it and I’m sure you’ll like it.” And she did!! THANKS for creating recipes that bring our bellies happiness and brighten our day :)

You should try making lemon fudge. There a recipe that I find, but the amount of sugar sounds like a lot to use in the recipe (3 3/4 cup of powdered sugar). Plus, am afraid of using that much amount of xylitol cause last time, I did it was too strong for my taste. I have weight loss surgery two years ago, and my taste has changed. I can’t have sugar anymore which end up giving me heart burn.

Thank you so much for the lovely recipe! Made it last week with a few modifications and it turned out really well. It works well with about 1/3 cup liquid sweetener instead of xylitol. Going to make an almond butter version today and see how it goes. So many possibilities with a recipe like this :)

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Comments are greatly appreciated! Unfortunately Elana is not able to answer substitution questions, as the only way to know if something works is to test it, and she does not provide this service. If you have a substitution question, please don't hesitate to leave a comment here, and another reader may jump in to answer.
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